Science in the community
ETH Zurich took part in the local festival in Zurich’s Oberstrass quarter. Researchers from the Cybathlon team presented two interesting experiments from health research and discussed their work with local residents.
ETH Zurich’s location in the city centre means it is naturally linked to the Oberstrass quarter. The Oberstrass Quarter Association’s traditional ‘Määrt-Fäscht’ festival, held on Saturday 4 June 2016, provided an excellent opportunity for relaxed dialogue between the university and local residents. A selection of local institutions, organisations and companies took the chance to introduce themselves to the surrounding community.
ETH Zurich had its own stand at the fair for the first time this year, much to the delight of the organisers. Visitors to the stand were given a sneak peek at the first-ever Cybathlon event – the championship for athletes with physical disabilities using the latest assistive technologies. This major event will take place in Kloten on 8 October 2016.
The Cybathlon team, led by doctoral student Dario Wyss from the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, gave interactive demonstrations to illustrate two exciting aspects of Cybathlon technologies: the ‘hot wire’ from the prosthetic arm racing course, and functional electrical stimulation (FES) of muscles, which is used in a bike race. Young local residents in particular were fascinated by the two experiments.